Duane Wilson

On Wednesday, July 15th at 6:00pm, a group of twenty-three strangers met in St. Mary’s Square. They looked around—some with contagious excitement, others with subdued curiosity—seemingly wondering, Is that him? or I wonder if that’s her? For almost everyone involved, this was the first in-person meeting for newly matched SF Achievers’ scholars and mentors.

Developing a relationship with a complete stranger can be scary, but with warm smiles, handshakes, icebreakers, and of course…snacks, our group began to forget their worries. By the end of the hour, the pairs had engaged in a round of “Two-Truths and a Lie” and taken strolls around the park playing, “If You Really Knew Me…” (Executive Director, Gregory Collins’ favorite game).

Teams engaged in small tête-à-têtes that covered everything from favorite colors, family histories, to greatest hurdles they have overcome. At the close of the Meet & Greet, many teams were yearning for more time to get to know their new partner. Those wishes were granted as duos dispersed into the city following Program Director, Catherine Bradshaw’s encouragement to: “grab a bite to eat and continue getting to know one another!”

The level of engagement and willingness of complete strangers to sit down and have honest conversations with one another reminded us all that relationships can begin anywhere. It just takes one moment of honesty between two people to transform complete strangers into teammates.

“If you already have a full time career, do you really wish to accept a second one simultaneously? Oh, by the way, it is a volunteer position.” This is thePaula Pro Shot implied question Paula Morgan answered with an enthusiastic “Yes!” a year ago when she became Board President of San Francisco Achievers. As someone who has already served on multiple boards and is a seasoned healthcare executive, one must ask Paula, “Why?” “I believe in the mission,” she answers as she recites the SFA mission of reducing the achievement gap by providing support,mentors, and scholarship funds.

Originally trained as a nurse, Paula applies her compassionate nature, administrative expertise, professional recruiting talent and entrepreneurial skills to effectively lead SFA. It was Dr. Henry Safrit, Founder of Meritus College Fund who recruited the recruiter because she had already provided valuable leadership during her time as a Meritus board member. As an instrument rated pilot, it is fitting that Paula drive SFA, established in 2008 as a pilot project of Meritus. She has watched as SFA tailored the Meritus structure to create a supportive path for young African-American men to succeed in college.

As the Founder and Principal of Morgan Consulting Resources, a healthcare recruiting firm with a presence in six states, Paula knows intimately the crucial role a college education has on one’s ability to pursue a successful career. Building upon her initial career in nursing, Paula also mastered courses at Harvard and Wharton. Not only is she committed to Dr. Henry Safrit’s goal of being able to offer a scholarship to every African-American male in SF high schools who qualifies for the program; she knows what it takes. Prior to taking over as President, she lead the recruitment effort for SFA’s first staff member, hiring Catherine Bradshaw as the Program Director. A year later, Paula again lead a recruitment effort that lead to the hiring of Gregory Collins, the first Executive Director.

Currently, SFA provides a $12,000 college scholarship to each Achiever in the program and will award 34 scholarships in May 2015. Paula’s first priority is fundraising, with the goal to ensure SFA will be able to keep pace with college pricing and the volume of demand by candidate students.

Paula explains the Mentor Program as our “secret sauce” and is currently recruiting to add a third staff member; the Mentor Program Coordinator. The mentors clearly make the difference between a “just a scholarship” and a supportive family. Another priority Paula emphasizes is a better connection with the school district’s counselors and teachers to facilitate SFA connection with potential scholars. Getting the boys excited and introduced to a broad world of possibilities is critical to expanding their life experience. When asked what she likes to do best, Paula answered “succession planning.” We wish her luck because when the time comes, Paula will indeed be a tough act to follow
at SFA.

Volunteer mentors are at the heart of a successful San Francisco Achievers experience. But, who mentors the mentors? Who supports, trains and helps them help their students? The Mentor Committee, led by mentoring guru Linda Mornell, applied its practical experience and concluded, “Use the best resource there is…other mentors!” By pooling the knowledge and insight of people currently mentoring students, SFA created an effective reference tool from which volunteers can learn.

So, on February 27, 2015 SFA brought its idea to life with a Mentor Mixer, hosted by Board Treasurer Gregory Weitzman. The first of multiple forums for idea exchange, the purpose of the initial session was to get everyone acquainted and comfortable with one another. At first glance an observer may not see individuals with much in common. Executive Director Gregory Collins strongly believes “it takes a village,” and indeed a broad representation of the village showed up! Of the more than 25 people present, there were a wide variety of ages, backgrounds, ethnicities and skill sets. A show of hands revealed that although the majority currently lived in the East Bay and on the peninsula, most were not native to California. Hailing from the Northeast, East Coast, Midwest, Florida, Southwest and places in-between the enthusiastic group of men and women coalesced around a strong desire to help others and a realization that SFA offers a successful approach to help young African American men.

With the broad talents and professions represented among the participants, higher education is clearly a passion and unifying factor. The attendees’ college experiences varied; big, small, distant, local, public, private, etc. Some had been expected to attend college as generations of their family members had done before them. Others were the first in their family to graduate. It was undeniable everyone at the table believed a college education was critical to a person’s life journey… and they were willing to commit their time to help an Achievers Scholar get that experience. Hosting or attending a Mentor Mixer may not seem risky, and it’s probably not. Sharing ideas among people who value education is indeed rather safe. What makes these mentors admirable risk takers is their willingness to offer their time and talent to an Achiever. They commit to him for several year through the good times and tough times continually advancing toward the breakthrough of accomplishment. Why? Because our young men are definitely worth the risk!